The end of April was a busy stretch, my friends! Between work trips, fun trips, marking another trip around the sun… honestly it felt like a bit of a fever dream. Somewhere within all of that chaos, however, I managed to squeeze in a couple of shows that I most certainly won’t forget anytime soon. The first of those was Dethklok and Amon Amarth, with special guest Castle Rat – A run appropriately designated as the The Amonklok Conquest Tour. April 29th at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway offered something new, something nostalgic, and a whole lot of entertainment. Lots to share about this one, so let’s roll into it.

First, some quick context. This show made it’s way onto my calendar about a day and a half out… and less than a day after flying in from another trip. No matter. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Queue an impromptu overnighter in the city with a work day in the office, repack the weekender and camera bags, and off we go. Easy, at least logistically. But by the time the work day was over and I began the walk down to Fenway, I was cooked. Like, stumbling levels of tired. It’s funny, though. The years keep going by and still every time I walk into a venue it’s like the day restarts for me. My energy picks right back up to exactly where it needs to be. This night was no different, and I was undeniably stoked to witness what would become a ridiculously satisfying evening.

And Castle Rat made that clear right off the bat. While I was familiar in name only, it was certainly a name I had seen a lot of since last year’s release of The Bestiary. And as good as I’m sure that albums is – yes, I still haven’t gone through it end-to-end myself – I’m convinced their live performance takes that 10 levels further up. For half an hour The Rat Queen turned the MGM into The Realm. There was storytelling. There were swords. There was smoke. There were battles with giant rats. The theatrics were absurdly fun to not only witness, but feel like a participant in. I didn’t know what to expect from them. Honestly I didn’t really expect anything at all. And that made it all the better. Oh, and as for their sound? Super crispy. Their riffs absolutely filled the venue, wall to wall, front to back. It was brilliantly immersive both in sound and visually. That set could have gone on and on and I would have stayed locked in throughout. It was the highlight of the night, without a doubt. But we still have a couple of set to go.

I think we all know what to expect from Amon Amarth these days. That said, it just so happens that what we expect is still something that brings me a ton of joy after this many years. Of course it’s over-the-top as hell. But give me the Viking helmet drum riser, Norse warrior statues, and archers to accompany the galloping riffs, rhythms, and Johan’s signature growl every time. I mean come on, how can you not enjoy yourself amidst all of this? As one who still revisits Versus The World on a regular basis, I have to spend a sentence or two on my appreciation for the setlist they curated for this run. It featured a little of everything. They reached back and grabbed “Death in Fire” from the aforementioned release – the song that originally got me into Amon Amarth way back when – and managed to feature I think six other albums, mostly working forward from there. I rediscovered some old favorites and managed to connect with a few newer tracks I hadn’t previously been able to before. But I mean, when you get the entire pit to drop to the floor to row along to “Put Your Back Into the Oars”… that kind of thing is bound to happen. They’ve have been doing their thing for a long time. I say keep on keepin’ on. And if somehow you haven’t managed to catch them live after all these years? Get it on your priority list.

And lastly, Dethklok. I’ll preface this segment by admitting I made it through about 15 minutes before throwing in the towel on the evening. And that’s a shame. I was excited for the trip down memory lane and all of the absurdity that Metalocalypse and Dethklok is. Hell, there were even two dudes dressed up as Dr. Rockso in the venue. It was awesome! But from the beginning of the introductory video, it just didn’t seem to be the night. There were some “testnical diskiffulties” playing that initial video. The audio and video didn’t seem quite synched up at time (a real bummer for a cartoon band). You get the idea. It all zapped my energy pretty damn hard. I made it through “Awaken” – which undoubtedly scratched an itch – and then started packing up. But I’ll say this: Brendon Small and crew sounded great. He called upon Pickles and Skwisgaar to help kill a few moments and it definitely brought me a laugh. Full on dialogs with himself. It just so happened that I got what I needed from that set and the rest of the night really, really quickly. For those that stuck around for the rest of it, I envy your witnessing “Murmaider”, “Thunderhorse”, and “Go Into the Water”. But for me? Perhaps next time.

A mile walk back to the office and the car. An hour drive to my residence of the evening. And a very, very long day was done. But it was all worth it many times over. I went into this hoping for some entertainment layered with a little ridiculousness. And I got plenty of both. Yet, this was only the first show of the week for me. Two days later we were right back at it and I can’t wait to share about that one soon. Stay tuned.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb